DarthEbriate

The Buffalo Sabres are no ordinary rabbit!

The looming question for me from this game is... how bad is Dahlin's injury? Because Byram has looked fine with Dahlin (lots of players do). Byram and Power together as the top pair for any stretch of time? No. No, no. no no no.

Game 6, 1999 Final. Not that they should've won the series or had a lead or anything, just for the pain. This loss? This loss I could shrug off by the time I turned off the television.

If they were producing like average 2nd liners and had about 15 points each right now, yes. The Sabres would probably be in 3rd place in their division. That's on the GM. (And on folks like me who saw Quinn's production in his first two seasons and thought... RW2, PP time all season... that's a 50-point floor player, if healthy. And potentially your best combined shooter/playmaker on the roster.) -------- In an alternate spin on the OP; what next? Scratch him again. Or maybe he needs a change of scenery before the GM locks him into a 7-year deal when all he has earned for next season is a bridge. Alternate, if he improves a bit over the season, but never gives 2nd line production... And another GM makes him an RFA offer sheet -- do you just take the picks?

An MVP-caliber QB will do that for you. Replace Josh Allen with... the NY Jets running string of QBs since Allen was drafted... and they're a talented roster that's maxing out at 7 wins. That has nothing to do with the owner.

Normally, this is definitely a backup goalie game for Winnipeg, but they're losers of 4 in a row and have ceded their division lead to Minnesota. It should be a Comrie revenge game, but it could very easily be a Hellebuyck get-right shutout game.

Home game vs. a team with the same win% (currently, not necessarily by the time they meet), but that has a -12 goal differential vs. the Sabres' -2 (was +4 a week ago when the Sabres were in...3rd place in their division?). That's a game any franchise would expect to win. Will they beat the Wings? We'll see.

But Darth Pegulas the Wise and GM Sheevyn want to be here. Unlike Eichel, Reinhart (top 10 in scoring in the league in scoring), Montour (16th among D), Ullmark, and many, many others.

No surprise to lose at home to Minnesota this season. The current homestand has four more games: Jets, Ex-Coyotes, Red Wings, Rangers. Goalie, frisky team, Eastern team they should beat, and the falling-apart-Rangers. That's a tough homestand for this roster.

1st bold: Wedgewood will give them Reimer-level goaltending and it will be enough for them. 2nd: And it was. MacKinnon wanted the puck from Power. So he went over, knocked Power down, and chipped the puck away. Rantanen wanted it from the forward, and got it. Shortly after, there was a shot on goal. Though I don't believe that instance led directly to a goal.

I took a peek at the scoreboard back when it was 4-1 and thought, good thing they're winning by so much, because everyone else is going to OT. Sure enough, all the Eastern competition games tonight hit OT. The Sabres are going to find themselves with 5 teams between them and a playoff spot by morning, on track to pick 8th overall again.

He and Zucker. But if I'm Zucker's agent I'm already on the phone to GM Sheevyn that I'm not interested in re-signing, so it's probably best to look for a contender like Florida for me, too.

But Mitts was a -2, amirite?

Pulling the goalie -- I do not expect the Sabres to outwork the Avalanche even with an extra skater.

Just stand in front of the net. Wait for rebound. Tap it, unmolested by the defenders, into the net. (Great save by UPL, but no help from his teammates.)

MacKinnon wins his puck battles and the rest of his team feeds off it and the win their battles and races, too.

I hesitate to think what this game would look like if Wedgewood had simply been given the start.

An ongoing problem since the tank started. When very good teams turn on the aggression and go to playoff speed, this team doesn't have another gear to match it.

What an awful powerplay, leading immediately to an easy rush even-strength tap-in.

The Concept of Time is an unknown (and EEE). This is how we win!

The Avalanche broadcasters stated that the PP timer does not display on the gargantuan new scoreboard. The audience doesn't know how much PP time is remaining for visitors? Is this real?

All these commercials tell me 'tis the season... to cast modesty aside and toot your own claxon.

Start PP2 for the beginning of the third. They move at least.

Great redirect save by UPL on Rantanen.

Got roped into some last-minute Imperial meetings. Supply problems, labor difficulties. Bein' responsible. Time to start the game! I'll catch up with y'all at the rendezvous point.